Oscar Ugarteche and Ariel Noyola Rodríguez | Guest Blog | September 23, 2014
On September 9, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution to create a new multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring processes. The resolution, drafted by Bolivia on behalf of the Group of 77 (consisting of 133 member-countries) plus China, was approved with 124 votes in its favour. There were 41 abstentions and only 11 members (including the US, the UK, Japan, Canada and Israel) voted against it. The resolution notes that “sovereign debt crises are a recurring…
By Kavaljit Singh | Commentary | September 23, 2014
Jan Dhan Yojana (People’s Wealth Plan) – an ambitious financial inclusion program – was launched amid much fanfare in India on 28th August, 2014. The initial target of Jan Dhan Yojana is to cover 75 million unbanked households by 26th January, 2015. The government claims that on the inaugural day, a record 15 million bank accounts were opened across the country under this initiative. Nowhere else in the world, such a large number of bank accounts have been opened…
The overblown hype over the increased FDI ceilings in the defence sector, touting that India would become a major arms exporter from currently being the top importer in the world, is unrealistic. The exaggerated expectations that by increasing the FDI limits from the current 26 percent to 49 percent for foreign original equipment manufacturers will ensure rapid transfer of technology and setting up of vast manufacturing facilities for India’s armed forces as well as for arms exports may turn…
Many commentators have viewed the ongoing stalemate over the passage of controversial Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 – which, inter alia, proposes to raise foreign shareholding in the insurance sector from 26 to 49 percent – as nothing but sheer political opportunism of country’s two main political parties – Congress and BJP. Undeniably, it was the Congress-led UPA government which introduced this Bill in 2008 but the then main opposition party (BJP) strongly opposed it and the Bill was…
In September 2012, the UPA government announced its policy of permitting 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail with accompanying riders. In an unusual admission that they did not achieve a consensus on the policy, the UPA left it to the states to decide if they would permit large-format foreign retailers to open outlets within their borders. Promptly, a majority of the States declared that foreign retailers are not welcome in their territories.
